The Cross and The Lynching Tree

Most Christians when looking at the cross think of hope and happiness because of what was gained from it through Jesus dying for our sins. James Cone, author of The Cross and The Lynching Tree, tries to explain this. In this essay, Cone discusses Jesus dying for us on the cross, but what he is trying to prove to us is that the cross has a different meaning than what we all believe. People tend to ignore the literal meaning of the cross and what it represents because of the darkness that surrounds it. Cone believes that those who want to understand the cross in America, must learn of and understand the lynching tree because “The cross and the lynching tree interpret each other”.  

Jesus was dying to save the same people that were persecuting him in the first place. I believe this is one of the main reasons that Cone was connecting the cross and the lynching tree. The crowd at Jesus’ crucifixion was continuously shouting “Crucify him!” while the people in the crowds at lynchings were consistently screaming “Lynch him!”. They are one and the same because “The lynched black victim experienced the same fate as the crucified Christ”. With this knowledge, all Christians must look at the lynching tree and what was done there to fully understand the cross and the experiences that so many people had to go through.

However, the cross and the lynching tree are not usually connected and thus not discussed together. This is mostly due to the people seeing the cross as “…one of the most visible symbols of America’s Christian origin”.  Jesus’ crucifixion and lynchings are not viewed as being similar because people try so hard to forget about the bad things that have happened in the world. People try to forget that lynchings have happened, and they try to forget the bad aspects of the crucifixion, but the bad is necessary to fully understand and have a serious conversation about who Jesus is and what Christianity means.

James Cone, through his essay, also discusses the Word of God being offensive. He examines the stories and the different meanings and specific wordings that can be taken and used for someone’s own ideas. Cone specifically says, “God’s word is not a popular word, not a successful word, and not an entertaining word”.

Cone’s arguments relate to Roberto S. Goizueta’s argument in From Calvary to Galilee about the denial of suffering and of the poor. Goizueta discusses people hiding and not acknowledging what we do not want to see, hear or talk about. There is a refusal to acknowledge what happened at the crucifixion.  This is the basis for Jesus showing his disciples his wounds and makes them touch his wounds to convince them what really happened after his resurrection. When Jesus is resurrected, He still has his wounds because what happens during the crucifixion that is bodily must remain for after his resurrection. However, as Goizueta points out to us, although this is true, people do not want to acknowledge it and they do not want to understand it. These things are not in our control “so we surround ourselves with things that promise security and invulnerability”.

People do not want to acknowledge the details of the crucifixion and they do not want to admit what happened during lynchings. As Goizueta discusses, “In the end, what we fear most is not “those” persons but ourselves, our weak, fragile, vulnerable, wounded selves. So we avoid touching, or even seeing, the wounds. We avoid risking the act of solidarity, or companionship with the victims of history, not because we hate them but because we hate ourselves”.

As Cone points out, people do not understand the connection between the cross and the lynching tree – how they are one and the same.  Even when people do see the connection, most try to ignore it as best as they can. The cross and the lynching tree can be seen as being connected to each other.  For people to fully understand the cross, they must remember the pain and suffering that comes along with both the crucifixion and the lynchings.